A Little Consolation for my Anxious and Depressed Friends

What do teenagers see as major problems among their generation? According 2018 survey of 13–17-year-olds (now aged 15-20) it’s anxiety and depression. I’d imagine nearly everyone in their teens and twenties today would score similarly.

I work with those of you in this age range. You are clever, industrious, hungry for justice, lovers of beauty, and I feel for your sense of drowning in impending doom.

It’s not much but let me offer a little consolation.

I’m Sorry

First off let me simply say that I’m sorry for how you are suffering. I’m not sorry because I’m the source of your anxiety – though this may be true on occasion for a few of you close to me (I’d put an emoticon smiley face here if I knew how). I say that because I genuinely feel for what you are facing. While I don’t experience anxiety and depression at the levels you do or with the frequency you do, I do see how heavily it weighs on you. How it torments you. How it paralyzes you, and my heart is heavy for what you are going through.

I know it seems like small consolation, but it is a kind of solidarity. More than any advice I can give (I’m not a qualified counsellor), or any cheer leading I could offer, I stand with you in your suffering as one who shares a burden. I’m sorry for your grief and your worry.

The World’s Sorrow

Some of you may wonder why small things can produce such immobilizing anxiety. You may feel like you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by a little setback, a small mistake, a late bus. But you need to realize how thoroughly connected you’ve been to the pain of the world since you were very young. There is no generation who has had such access to the tragedies which rack our planet. I certainly did not have to bear such cosmic heartbreak when I was your age. I was hardly aware of happenings beyond my local news station. You have been immersed in global tragedy on a daily basis practically from childhood.

You live in a time of unprecedented climate crisis. A time of bitter division. Of social upheaval. And, at least in the US, a time of violence that parallels wartime.  

Those pains show up in the little things. The weight of the world’s sorrow is manifest in the panic attack over seemingly small crises. It is the oozing sore of our wounded world showing up in your anxiety and depression. Don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t be so upset about trivial matters. Your anxiety is how you carry our world’s sorrow.

You’re Still Standing

One reason I admire you is that you have borne up under it all. You are still here. Still connected. Choosing to remain plugged into this beautiful, broken world and wanting to make a difference. You have passed through the panic attacks of this week and you will stand up through the ones coming up tomorrow. Consider it a sign of stamina and endurance that you are still standing.

The Divine

I know not all of you believe in God and the majority of you have given up on the Church. I don’t know how different I would be if I were born in the same era.

I suppose if I had one appeal it would be for you to consider the possibility that a Divine Intelligence is present in this world despite the suffering. And if there is a Cosmic Creator, then our ability to engage so deeply with one another, our ability to feel pain, our ability to make change, might be a result of the imprint of this Designer.

Even if we cannot comprehend the mysteries of pain and suffering, take courage in the possibility that the One Who Transcends All sees your anxiety and depression. Perhaps even feels it along with you – or at least your ability to feel pain may be a reflection of the emotions of the One in whose image you were made,

I know. This is little consolation when you’re submerged in panic or sadness. But receive it. I have no life hack for you, no miracle cure, no sage advice. Just a bit of solidarity, a little appreciation for how you carry global sorrow, an admiration for your courage, and a faith that there is a God who sees.

P.S. If anxiety gives you trouble sleeping, I’ve created a sleep podcast to distract your mind and read a classic short story. Stream Scott Bessenecker | Listen to Uncle Scott Reads playlist online for free on SoundCloud